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Showing posts from September, 2014

Reclaimed wood inspiration

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Designer retrospective: Charles Rennie Mackintosh

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Born in Glasgow, the second son in a family of eleven children, his father was a superintendent of police. From an early age he was interested in a career as an architect, and when he was sixteen he was articled in the office of the Glasgow architect John Hutchison, studying at the same time as an evening student at the Glasgow School of Art. Here he came into contact with J. Herbert MacNair and the Macdonald sisters, Frcnces and Margaret (wham he loter married), with whom he was to form the group, which became known as the Glasgow Four. They exhibited together on a number of occasions; the work shown at the 1896 Arts and Crafts Exhibition was greeted with incomprehension and distaste. Meanwhile, in 1889, Mackintosh had joined the firm of Honeyman & Keppie, where he remained until 1913, becoming a partner in 1904. All his most important architectural and decorative work was done during this period, and it is clear that he was allowed a degree of autonomy within the fir

Trends in interiors over the past 25 years.

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We are all aware of the vast changes in decor throughout the ages for example, the Victorian days, modernism, post modernism, through to distinctive styles of the 50's, 60',70's, and of course the 80's. For many however the 90's through to now, seem to be a monotone confusion, with not much separation of styling as had been seen through previous decades. There were however some very distinctive things happening over the last 25 years, which most have quite probably forgotten or rather chosen to forget. The early nineties was dominated with what everybody referred to as pink beech and this furniture which was mostly imported from Italy was seen in most contemporary homes of the time. This furniture was imported from Italy along with a host of chairs, which varied from more classic varieties like the bustle back, through to high back Macintosh influenced styles to the hugely popular Pisa chair. The original pisa chair with its raffia seat, adorned thousan

Showrooming VS. Webrooming

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Showrooming is a concept whereby people will look for suitable products online, then go and look at the actual item at a brick & mortar store yet purchase it online. Webrooming on the other hand begins in an identical fashion yet the purchase is made in-store. ·       Whatever anybody says these two concepts go hand in hand and will vary based on product category and logistics. ·       International statistics have shown that consumer’s research items via the interwebs before making a purchase and whilst we don’t have this kind of data available locally we can see how well online retailing is currently doing. ·       Showrooming is key for Furniture retailers, who are prepared to invest money in a great delivery system nationwide. This could actually allow consumers to get their products even sooner than they would normally receive these items. Very rarely will a customer go into a furniture store or buy appliances for that matter and walk out with them. ·       On the other

Designer spotlight - Marc Newson

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Marc Newson has been described as the most influential designer of his generation. He has worked across a wide range of disciplines, creating everything from furniture and household objects to bicycles and cars, private and commercial aircraft, yachts, various architectural commissions, and signature sculptural pieces for clients across the globe. Born in Sydney, Newson spent much of his childhood travelling in Europe and Asia. He started experimenting with furniture design as a student and, after graduation, was awarded a grant from the Australian Crafts Council with which he staged his first exhibition - featuring the Lockheed Lounge – a piece that has now, twenty years later, set three consecutive world records at auction. Newson has lived and worked in Tokyo, Paris, and London where he is now based, and he continues to travel widely. His clients include a broad range of the best known and most prestigious brands in the world - from manufacturing and technology to transportati